Actress. Elizabeth Hartman made her film debut in “A Patch of Blue” opposite Sidney Poitier.  Her efforts earned her a nomination for an Academy Award as best Actress.  She did not win, but later received a Golden Globe award .  Her career quickly took hold and other movies followed…”The Group” “Your’re a Big Boy Now” “The Fixer” “The Beguiled” “Intermission” and “Walking Tall.”  She appeared many times as a character actor on television and also appeared in the television pilot “Cages”.  She never reached her full potential due to a continuing depression problem which constantly interfered with her career finally resulting in her demise at age 43.  She was born in Boardman, Ohio as Mary Elizabeth Hartman the middle child in a family of three.  Raised in nearby Youngstown and during her high school days focused on Dramatics while acting in school plays which was instrumental in a desire for a show business career. After graduation, Elizabeth received excellent stage training as a member at the Youngstown Playhouse one of the oldest and largest community theaters in the country.  She appeared in many plays as well as one that successfully toured the country.  In an attempt to add formal training to her acting skills, she enrolled at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, staying only one year before moving to New York and quickly landed the lead role of Selina D’Arcy in “Patch of Blue” resulting in an Academy nomination at age 22, the youngest ever in the category of Best Actress.  After her career quickly declined and finding work impossible to obtain, she developed mental problems in the form of acute depression.  Her last venture in Hollywood was as a voice actor in the animated film “The Secret of NIMH” in 1982 while her marriage of some fifteen years ended in divorce.  She simply disappeared into the life of a recluse only to reappear as a self player in her life’s greatest tragedy.  Living in Pittsburgh during her final years, she was an outpatient at a psychiatric hospital.  She called her doctor early one morning seeking help for extreme despondency.  Later in the day, Elizabeth was pronounced dead after a fall from her 5th floor apartment window.  Although, no witnesses were present and no suicide note found, her death was listed as a possible suicide due to a lengthy mental history. (bio by: Donald Greyfield)